Telling tales in Tabriz

When Daylesford storyteller - and former ABC Ballarat employee - Anne E Stewart visited Iran for an international storytelling conference, she didn't know quite what to expect. But she was thrilled to find a place with a passion for storytelling to match her own.

"I've travelled a fair bit with my storytelling and it was the most astounding, interesting place I've ever been."

She says the country's love of stories was obvious by the media attention given to the 16th International Storytelling Conference, that was held in the historic city of Tabriz.

"We were on all sorts of media, there were huge posters all over the town."

Anne says many people in Australia could learn from Iran when it comes to embracing the power and educational value of storytelling, that is also obvious in Indigenous culture here.

"I have come back refreshed, I thought, 'what a great way to teach kids language, translating stories and listening to different cultures', so I'm really excited about where we might move on."

But Anne says she did struggle with conforming to meet the strict social expectations of women.

"I think I may have made a few faux pas. Nobody ever told me not to shake hands with a holy man. I know that sounds very ignorant, but there were so many different things with the women totally covered, us having to stay covered, not being able to approach men.

"So that was quite different for me, and I found it a bit hard sometimes."

She says she's now looking forward to her next storytelling trip.

"I've been to quite a few places in my time, I'm just looking now for where I might like to go next."